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Introduction

Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School (LVA) is committed to providing students with hands-on experiences that prepare them for future careers. One of the many ways we achieve this is through our continued involvement in healthcare career pathways.

A Partnership for Future Healthcare Leaders

This experience was made possible through a collaboration with LVHN-Cedar Crest and their dedicated professionals, who took the time to guide our students through various aspects of healthcare.

Hands-On Learning in Healthcare

During the visit, students participated in three engaging sessions, where they:

• Explored the helipad and got an inside look at an ambulance
• Used an ultrasound machine on a willing volunteer
• Spoke one-on-one with a cardiothoracic surgeon about a typical day in the field

Student Reflections on the Experience

The impact of this experience was profound, with students expressing their excitement and appreciation for the opportunity. When asked about their favorite part of the visit, some of the responses included:

• “I enjoyed radiology the most because they gave a lot of information and I got to use the ultrasound.”
• “…learning more about the field that I plan on pursuing a career in.”
• “Getting one-on-one conversations with experienced professionals.”
• “Speaking to the cardiothoracic surgeon; he was very human, easy to talk to, and gave good advice.”

Looking Ahead: Inspiring Future Healthcare Professionals

These meaningful interactions allow our students to gain real-world insight into the medical profession. They inspire them to consider careers in healthcare. We extend our deepest gratitude to the LVHN-Cedar Crest team for making this experience possible.

Conclusion

At LVA, we believe that career exploration opportunities like these are essential in guiding our students toward their future aspirations. We are proud to support our youth in discovering their passions. We look forward to continuing our involvement in healthcare career pathways.

The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Career-related Programme (CP) is a framework of international education that combines the IB’s vision and educational principles with a specialized program designed for students pursuing career-related learning.

What the CP offers students:

The CP offers a comprehensive educational framework. It blends esteemed, internationally recognized courses from the IB Diploma Programme (DP). This is combined with a distinctive CP core and an approved career-related study.

The CP helps develop students who are:

• Academically strong
• Skilled in a practical field
• Critical and ethical thinkers
• Self-directed
• Collaborative
• Resilient and determined
• Confident and assured
• Caring and reflective
• Inquirers

What are the benefits of the CP for students?

The CP empowers students to:

• Apply their knowledge to practical, real-world contexts.
• Pursue their preferred educational and career paths.
• Blend academic learning with personal interests and professional skills.
• Participate in meaningful learning that positively impacts their community.
• Develop critical and creative thinking skills.
• Communicate effectively and adapt to various situations.
• Work both independently and collaboratively.
• Embrace new perspectives and diverse viewpoints.
• Build self-confidence and self-awareness.
• Exhibit resilience and adaptability in different circumstances.
• Cultivate a global mindset and international awareness.

A central component of the International Baccalaureate® Career-related Programme (CP), the CP core focuses on experiential learning to foster students’ personal and interpersonal growth.

The CP core connects IB academic courses with career-related studies, equipping students with a blend of academic knowledge and practical skills.

It is comprised of four interconnected components.

Personal and Professional Skills:

The Personal and Professional Skills course is designed to help students develop attitudes, strategies, and skills. These can be applied to both personal and professional contexts, both now and in the future.

This course emphasizes workplace skill development, focusing on transferable skills that can be utilized across a variety of situations.

Service Learning:

Service learning involves applying knowledge and skills to address a specific, authentic community need.

Through this research-driven approach, students often engage in service projects. These projects are connected to topics explored in their academic disciplines. They leverage the skills, insights, and values gained from their studies.

Reflective Project:

The reflective project is a comprehensive piece of work created over an extended period and submitted at the conclusion of the CP. It allows students to identify, analyze, critically examine, and evaluate an ethical issue related to their career-focused studies.

This project is designed to foster advanced research, writing, and communication skills, while encouraging intellectual exploration and creativity.

Language Development:

Language development provides all students with access to a language program. This program supports and enhances their understanding of the broader world. The ability to communicate in multiple languages is fundamental to the IB’s vision of international education.

Language development encourages students to strengthen their skills in a language other than their native one.

Overview of the IB Career-related Programme (CP)

The International Baccalaureate® Career-related Programme (CP) offers students a unique blend of academic courses and career-related studies, fostering the development of critical thinking, practical skills, and global awareness. The CP prepares students to be confident, resilient, and ethical thinkers by connecting academic learning with real-world applications.

Key components such as Personal and Professional Skills, Service Learning, the Reflective Project, and Language Development empower students in several ways. They help students gain hands-on experience. They also enable them to contribute meaningfully to their communities. Additionally, students develop the skills necessary to thrive in both personal and professional contexts.

On Friday, February 7, 2025, 34 juniors from Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School embarked on an exciting journey into the world of healthcare at Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Muhlenberg campus. This unique opportunity allowed students to gain hands-on experience, explore various career pathways, and engage with healthcare professionals across multiple departments.

The visit was made possible through the collaborative efforts of LVH-Muhlenberg and HNL Lab Medicine. Special thanks to the dedicated teams in the Emergency Department, HNL Lab Medicine, Perioperative Care, Rehab Services, and Volunteer Services, who provided invaluable insights and interactive learning experiences for our students.

Hands-On Learning with HNL Lab Medicine

Students participated in a hands-on urinalysis activity with Katie Moore from HNL Lab Medicine. This mock lab experience gave them a glimpse into diagnostic testing, a crucial component of patient care. By engaging in real-world medical procedures, students developed a deeper appreciation for laboratory medicine and its impact on healthcare outcomes.

Immersive Department Tours

Guided by professionals from Volunteer Services (thank you, Lynn Schaeffer!), students toured several key departments:

• Emergency Department: Dr. Kate Kane provided insights into emergency medicine, showing students how fast-paced decisions can save lives.
• Rehab Services: Allison Sawyer and Mark Fuse introduced students to the world of physical therapy and rehabilitation, inspiring at least one student-athlete to consider a career in the field.
• Perioperative Care: Bridgette Ramos, RN, guided students through the OR unit, demonstrating the critical roles nurses, surgeons, and techs play in surgical procedures.

Student Reflections: A Day of Eye-Opening Experiences

The impact of the visit was evident in the students’ enthusiastic feedback.

One student remarked, “I loved being around the nurses and learning about the future potential fields I will be involved with.” Another shared how the experience broadened their perspective on nursing: “Speaking with the registered nurse in the OR unit opened up another department I may want to work in as a nurse. It was interesting to see the different rooms and equipment surgeons, techs, and nurses all have to use.”

For many students, the visit transformed their perception of healthcare. One initially thought hospitals were “boring” but left inspired to pursue a healthcare career. Another student, who originally aspired to be an anesthesiologist, discovered a newfound passion for becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).

Looking Ahead

This visit reinforced the importance of experiential learning in shaping career aspirations. By engaging directly with healthcare professionals and witnessing the impact of their work, students gained clarity and motivation for their future paths.

Lehigh Valley Academy extends sincere gratitude to the LVH-Muhlenberg staff and HNL Lab Medicine for their dedication to educating and inspiring the next generation of healthcare professionals. We look forward to future opportunities to connect students with real-world experiences that help them explore their passions and career goals.

At Lehigh Valley Academy, we believe in providing students with real-world experiences that inspire their futures. Our recent visit to Cetronia Ambulance Corps was a perfect example of this mission in action, as our students engaged in hands-on learning through the Health Care Career Pathways program.

A Day of Immersive Learning

Thanks to our incredible partners Michele Lukitsch, Michael LaPearl, and the dedicated team at Cetronia Ambulance Corps, our students had the opportunity to explore emergency response and critical care transport careers firsthand. From touring ambulances to participating in simulations, students got a behind-the-scenes look at the fast-paced world of emergency medical services.

One of the highlights of the visit was the #StoptheBleed training, where students learned life-saving skills and gained a deeper appreciation for the critical role emergency responders play in our community. Special thanks to Dr. Jillian Allenfor taking the time to answer student questions and share insights from her medical career

Student Reflections

The impact of this experience was clear from our students’ responses:

• “I liked the interactive elements where we got to participate hands-on.”
• “Being able to chat with actual professionals who’ve been through the works was really inspiring.”
• “I enjoyed learning about emergency medical responses the most, like ambulances and helipads.”
• “I think the scariest part of choosing a career is not knowing how to start. This visit helped me see how people got to where they are today.”

Creating Career Pathways

Experiences like this are at the heart of our Health Care Career Pathways program, which connects students with professionals and career education opportunities in the medical field. We are grateful to Lehigh Valley Health Network and Jefferson Health for their continued support in making this program possible.

By bridging classroom learning with real-world exposure, we empower students to explore their passions, develop career goals, and take the first steps toward their futures.

Thank you again to our amazing partners for making this experience unforgettable!  #FutureHealthcareHeroes #CareerPathways #RealWorldLearning #IBLearning #LVAPride #GoJaguars

The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) emphasizes intellectual challenge. 

It motivates students aged 11 to 16 to apply their learning to real-world situations, equipping them for success in both future studies and life.

What the MYP offers students:

The MYP seeks to cultivate active learners and globally minded individuals who are empathetic and strive for lives of purpose and meaning.

The program encourages students to explore a broad spectrum of important issues and ideas, both locally and globally. This fosters young people who are creative, critical, and reflective thinkers.

IB’s Approach to Teaching and Learning:

The MYP strives to assist students in developing their personal understanding, growing sense of self, and responsibility within their community.

The teaching and learning in the MYP is grounded in the following concepts:

1. Teaching and learning in context: Students learn most effectively when their learning experiences are meaningful and connected to their lives and personal experiences of the world. Through global contexts, MYP students gain an understanding of their shared humanity and collective responsibility for the planet by engaging in developmentally appropriate explorations of:

• identities and relationships
• personal and cultural expression
• orientations in space and time
• scientific and technical innovation
• fairness and development
• globalization and sustainability.

2. Conceptual understanding: Concepts are broad ideas that hold significance within specific disciplines and across subjects. MYP students use these concepts to explore issues and ideas of personal, local, and global importance, while examining knowledge in a holistic manner. The MYP outlines sixteen key interdisciplinary concepts, along with related concepts for each discipline.

3. Approaches to learning: A consistent theme across all MYP subject areas, approaches to learning (ATL) form the foundation for independent learning and promote the use of knowledge and skills in new contexts. By developing and applying social, thinking, research, communication, and self-management skills, students learn how to learn.

4. Service as action, through community service: Action and service have long been core values of the IB community. Students engage in action by applying what they learn both in the classroom and beyond. IB learners aim to be compassionate community members, dedicated to service—making a positive impact on others and the environment. Service as action is a key component of the program, particularly within the MYP community project.

5. Inclusion and learning diversity in MYP: As part of the MYP curriculum, schools address differentiation within the written, taught, and assessed curriculum. This is reflected in the unit planner and teaching environment, both of which are evaluated during program authorization and review. The MYP enables schools to continue meeting state, provincial, or national legal requirements for students with access needs. Schools are required to develop an inclusion/special educational needs (SEN) policy that outlines assessment accommodations, classroom modifications, and curriculum adjustments tailored to meet the unique learning needs of individual students.

6. STEM education in the MYP: The MYP curriculum emphasizes STEM as a key perspective for integrating teaching and learning in concepts and skills related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

At Lehigh Valley Academy RCS, the Middle Years Programme empowers students to become thoughtful, globally minded individuals who connect learning to real-world challenges. By fostering critical thinking, inclusivity, and service, the MYP equips learners with the skills and perspectives needed for lifelong success.